Home / News / Facilities management to be used to help BIM | 23 February 2012

Facilities management to be used to help BIM | 23 February 2012

James Lavery

February 2012

Facilities management could drastically change the way the construction industry works, rics.org.uk reports.

Speakers at the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors BIM (business information modelling) conference in London have claimed that property and facilities management software could be used to bring an end to the current cycle of buildings being perpetual prototypes.

Architect Paul Fletcher suggested that the current model in operation in the construction sector sees buildings constantly in the prototype stage, with builders and architects unsure of exactly how their building will perform in the real world.

One example given was with retro-fitting solar panelling. Fletcher claimed that in spending time at the beginning getting the orientation of a building right would ensure that the panels end up being used to the best of their ability.

Speaking to fm-world.co.uk of his theory, Fletcher explained: “Every building we produce is effectively a prototype, and not enough credence is given up front to the outcome we’re looking to achieve with each construction project.

“We don’t know how the buildings are going to perform. We need to realised that BIM is about information processing, and our current information processing skills are pathetic. We need to start using information and tools in a completely different way. For too long the construction sector has profited from fragmented, incomplete information.”

Written by David Howells on behalf of Qube Global Software

While posted by Qube Global Software all views expressed are not necessarily those of the company. All facts are verified where possible directly by the author.